The Sporting Hack

Fabio Capello’s resignation from the England head coach position was met with a raised eyebrow, a tilt of the head and a curl of the bottom lip before a slight nod (a bit like Harry Redknapp pictured above) – the right decision? Definitely maybe. But what’s done is done and the England national side is once again at a crossroads. The (sometimes) ponderous Italian, Capello who had a healthy habit of winning, also had a tendency to ‘put his foot in it’ and the media could not wait for their mock-up of pizza eating clown to make another error. The latest ‘gaffe’ centred around an interview on Italian television station where ‘The Don’ expressed his backing of now former captain John Terry – stripped of the armband for his major role in a much protracted race row of course. It wasn’t naive of the 65-year old manager to think no one might actually translate this interview from his mother tongue, it was stupidity. Speaking of mother tongue, Capello arguably did not endear himself to ...

England under 21's 1-2 Czech Republic under 21's England Under-21’s hopes of progressing through to the European Championships semi-final against hosts Denmark were ended by a demoralising last gasp double against the Czech Republic in Group B. Danny Welbeck’s 76 th minute header looked to have given the Young Lions all three valuable points that would see them finish second behind group winners Spain – who defeated Ukraine 3-0. However, Czech coach Jakub Dovalil’s double substitution proved to be decisive as first Jan Chramosta in the 89 th minute, and then Tomas Pekhart in the 94 th minute, broke English hearts. In an all too familiar position for any England side in a major tournament, only a win would do for Stuart Pearce’s side. The Czech’s played a risky game, choosing to defend for large periods, but their robust and well drilled back line coped well with both Danny Sturridge and his namesake: Welbeck. When breached, goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik demonstrated he...